In oocytes of some vertebrates, a specific stage of prophase I of meiosis can last for months or years. Identify this arrested stage along with its defining chromosomal feature.

Step-by-step solution

In oocytes of some vertebrates, the diplotene stage can last for months or years. This arrested stage is known as the dictyotene stage. The beginning of the diplotene stage is recognised by the dissolution of the synaptonemal complex and the tendency of the recombined homologous chromosomes of the bivalents to separate from each other except at the sites of crossovers. Terminalisation of chiasmata is the defining feature of diakinesis, not diplotene. Therefore, the correct pairing is Diplotene with the dissolution